Take care, Richie
by Queen of Spiritual
Summary: For one week, Richie has to stay at home and take care of his sick kids. Lori Beth isn't there to help, and he feels like he would catch something from the kids. Would he? Find out
1. Chapter 1

Richie Cunningham was at home today. His children, Richie Jr. and Sara were staying home also since they were sick, and that isn't fun at all. It was 10:17 that Wednesday morning. His wife Lori Beth was out of town for the weekend, so he was on his own. He was looking back at all of the stuff he had written several years ago when he was in high school and college, but is mostly newspaper stuff.

It isn't often he looks back, but somehow he was doing so today. While Richie finished going through it, he shut the desk drawers. That's when he heard his daughter call him.

"Daddy!"

He got up and walked as fast as he could to see what was wrong with her.

"Yes, Sara? What do you need?"

"Can I have something to drink? My throat hurts."

Even though she only had a sore throat, she was to stay in bed until she felt better enough to get back to school. Even Richie Jr. was still in bed himself. He only had a cold, but was getting better. She still has a long ways to get better.

While he was still in Sara's room, he also heard his son.

"Be there in a bit, Rich! I am with your sister now."

He could hear his son coughing. He sounded like he needed a cough drop. So he left a few of cough drops in her room when she needed them.

"I will be back, honey. I will see what your brother wants. I will give you the full glass of water and then I will give your brother what he needs."

She didn't say anything, and couldn't because her throat was still bothering her. Richie didn't blame his son and daughter for being sick.

He told himself if might happen to him after the kids are back on their feet and school. He wished Lori Beth was here to help him do this job. It is tiring him out already. He told himself, "Lori Beth should have stayed here with me and not help a friend settle in her apartment in Washington. It would be faster if she was here. Maybe next time."

When he finished saying that, he headed to his son's bedroom.

"Would you mind waiting a bit longer, Rich? I am taking care of your sister. I shouldn't be long."

His son didn't say anything, so all he could do was nod his head.

"For now, I will give you a new box of Kleenex. Is that all you want?"

He shook his head. Richie understood and went to the kitchen and poured Sara a full glass of water. He didn't want to get on the telephone and ask his mother, whose name was Marion to come and help. He wanted to do this on his own.

When he returned to his daughter's bedroom, the clock begin to chime, telling him it was 10:30. Then he walked out of her room and entered his son's room. He'd been stretching a lot today because his kids wanted him to do this, do that. It was good exercise, he told himself as he went to get more cough drops for his son. Then he went downstairs to watch television, so that was exactly what he did.


	2. Chapter 2

Lori Beth showed up sometime after four – thirty that afternoon and found him lying on the couch. She saw he looked tired.

"Hi, Richie. How was your day?"

He looked at her sleepily and answered, "Exhausting. I wanted to have a bit of free time to myself from what is going on with the kids."

"I am sorry to hear that, Richie. I will take care of them tonight. You have done enough already."

"Would you mind doing them tomorrow? I had to get up almost every fifteen minutes."

"Of course I can do it tomorrow. There isn't anything going on in my schedule for tomorrow anyway. I will even cook dinner tonight."

"Thank you. I really appreciate that. You are the best wife almost every man could have."

Lori Beth liked hearing those words from him.

"Thank you, Richie. I love you too. I will go see how the children are doing."

"Don't bother with that, Lori Beth. They are sleeping. You can check on them anyway if you want to."

"I will go do that now. I will get supper started in an hour."

"That's fine with me. I would like to sleep for a while."

"I don't blame you. I think you should go to bed early since the kids have kept you busy."

"Good idea. I like the sound of that. I will do. Richie Jr. and Sara didn't seem to sleep much today. That's probably why they are doing so right now. I can take care of them tomorrow also when you can't get to them right away."

He yawned when he said that. He wasn't joking since he was tired all day by climbing up and down the stairs throughout the day.

Maybe tomorrow if things aren't going on with him and Lori Beth taking care of the kids, he could try to call up one of his friends to say hello.

Right now he thought it was a bad idea because his friends are thinking of eating at some point.

"Lori Beth, why don't we have soup and sandwiches tonight? I am not very hungry for a huge meal."

"That's fine. Maybe when you don't feel so tired we can do that."

"Thank you. I somehow don't feel very good right now. This is why I don't want a full meal tonight."

"I understand. You do sound like you are catching something."

It was true – he was catching something. He wasn't so sure what it could be. It probably had something to do with Sara and Richie Jr.

Lori Beth walked over to the couch where he was lying down. No wonder he sounded tired – he had a fever coming on.

"You are burning up. Go to bed now, Richie."

"I would like to eat before doing that."

"Okay, you win. I do worry about you."

"I know you do."

He even wasn't in the mood to give her a hug and kiss. Lori Beth did notice that. It was best he doesn't do that during this time with their kids involved. She wanted to play safe.

So she headed upstairs like she said. Richie couldn't even watch her head on up to check on them. No wonder he's been this tired when she came back home from what she had to do.

He still hadn't moved when she returned.

"You are right, Richie. They are sleeping. I don't want to disturb them."

He began to yawn a second time.

"Is there anything you want me to get you?" she asked.

Richie was too tired to nod his head, so he told her he didn't want anything.

"I will give you some water anyway. You need to drink a lot of liquid if you aren't feeling so hot right now."

Richie coughed. His throat was bothering him enough not to say anything. Looks like he caught Sara's sort throat, he told himself.

This is what happens if you take care of sick children, he reminded himself.

Lori Beth returned right away with a full glass of water and handed it to him.

He took a couple of gulps, but his throat was bothering him and had a hard time swallowing the water down.

"I think you should try eating tonight. You have a fever running right now."

He still couldn't find any words to respond. She wasn't expecting him to say anything.

Sara will be better than he will, he told himself.

There is no telling on that one, but you may never know what will happen next.

So he tried to speak, but he still couldn't find what he wanted to say. Lori Beth didn't want him to if he had that sore throat.

Lori Beth only pointed him to the stairs so he could head on to bed. He didn't want to start any arguments, so he did what she wanted him to.

Lori Beth didn't blame him if he was feeling this hot with a fever. All she could do was her best to stay away from the germs in this house for time being.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Richie was still feeling horrible. He weakly got out of bed. Lori Beth finished getting dressed and was now coming her hair.

"Richie! What are you doing up? You still look sick from yesterday."

"I am. Are you still going to take care of the kids today like you said you would?"

"I wish I could, Richie. I have another busy day. I will have to miss out on this for the whole week."

"Why don't you tell me why you can't stay home?" he asked.

"To tell the truth, I am taking over this week at the middle school because one of the teachers is sick in the hospital. I offered to take over."

He started coughing. It hurt his throat that he had a bit of trouble talking to his wife.

"Go back to bed. You look lousy today. You will have to stay here and take care of yourself and the kids."

He wasn't too sure about that.

"May I use the restroom?"

That was why he was out of bed. Both of the kids were still in bed, sleeping.

"You can have this room in a minute. I need to do my teeth and then have breakfast."

He sounded like it was time to have a cough drop because of his throat. Lori Beth could tell, so she went to give him a few cough drops.

"When you're done, go back to bed. But first, let me take your temperature. Looks like your fever is burning up a bit from yesterday."

Richie could tell it wasn't a good sign from what Lori Beth had just told him. He didn't feel like saying anything because his throat was bugging him. He didn't have a job to go to, so he didn't need to go in and do what was needed.

"What time do you think you would be back?" Richie asked once he drank some of the full glass of water she had given him not too long ago.

"Maybe the same as yesterday, but I can't promise anything. I will call you at lunchtime and see how you and the children are doing."

She was right. Lori Beth didn't do that yesterday since he was fine at that time.

That's the kind of wife he had appreciated from Lori Beth. This is what had kept them together since the first day when they became husband and wife.

"Richie, please go back to bed. You look like a mess," she told him.

She was right again, he told himself. He did exactly what she asked him to. Before getting under the covers, he made a visit to the bathroom.

When he came out, Richie got immediately under the covers like she had ordered him to do. He was still awake when she came inside to say good – bye when she left.

"The kids just fell asleep. You take care of yourself and the kids today. I will be back later and take over then."

"Okay," he said in a tired voice.

"I left some cough drops for you all. Please stay in bed today. It will make you feel better."

His throat was still sore, so he asked her to give him a refill before leaving.

"I will do that and then I have to go to work."

She saw his glass of water was already gone. No wonder he asked for more. At least this seemed to be working so far, which she found was a good thing.

Lori Beth put the cup of water by the bed for him. She didn't want to kiss him because she didn't want to catch his germs.

"I will talk with you at the lunch break. I promise."

He watched as she left to go downstairs. The master bedroom was upstairs and the kids weren't that far away.

He heard Lori Beth slam the front door behind herself. Then it grew quieter because she was already gone.

He started to cough again shortly after he heard her drive away. He heard Richie Jr. and Sara do the same thing. He decided to get out of bed to see if they wanted anything. He didn't, so he stayed in since he was weak enough to check in on them. He would do so later when he finds the chance.

"Wow. I hardly ever feel this way," Richie told himself in a sore throat.

He didn't feel like this yesterday. He still couldn't figure out why he and the kids are sick together. Now the house is full of germs from the three of them.

He told himself, "I hope Lori Beth doesn't catch anything from us with all of these germs involved. Don't want the whole family like that. Maybe I should try having Mom come over and take care of us. Not a bad idea."

He did just that. He ended up getting out of bed and dialed Marion's number. He listened to the phone ring for a few times. She finally picked up.

"Hello, Richard. I wasn't expecting to receive a call from you today," Marion greeted him.

Marion didn't notice right away that he sounded like he was sick. He felt like throwing up when he gets off the phone.

"Hi, Mom. Would you mind coming over today?" Richie asked.

"I can do that. Is there anything you want me to help with?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Richard, listen to yourself. You sound horrible. I'm coming over right away."

"Thanks, Mom. I will see you then."

That's when their call ended.

Then Richie walked into Sara's room. He wanted to tell her and Richie Jr. that Marion was coming over to help them out since they all feel lousy.

"Why is Grandma coming over for that?" Sara asked.

"Can't you tell?" he asked her.

"Yes. You sound just like me, expect I'm getting better."

"That's true, Sara. I will go tell your brother that my mother is coming over. Do you need anything?"

"Just a cough drop. I've been coughing for a while now."

"I can tell. I will give you a full glass of water to go along with it."

Then he started doing the same.

"I think you deserve a cough drop too," Sara told him.

"Not now. I will wait for a while longer to do that."

Then he left the room and headed to Richie Jr.'s room.

"Rich, your grandmother is coming over to help us out. I called her up not too long ago."

Richie Jr. sounded like he was feeling a lot better than Sara. He did have a cold, but he could also tell his father had just caught something.

"Okay. Dad, you sound horrible. Go back to bed. I feel like I should be back to one hundred percent sometime this afternoon or tonight."

"You sound like it. Maybe you can go back to school tomorrow."

"Where is Mom?" he asked.

"In town. She will be back tonight."

"Why?"

"Because she is teaching since one of the teachers is sick in the hospital."

"Wow. Sounds like a lot of people are starting to catch something, including you."

"That's true. Do you need anything? I'm giving Sara a cough drop and another glass of water."

He ended talking to Richie Jr. and coughed again.

"Just go back to bed, Dad. I don't need anything except for more water."

This was the third glass of water he's had today. He remembered Lori Beth had given him some more.

"You've been drinking a lot of water today. I will give you another refill."

"Why don't you do the same, Dad? It'll make you feel better."

"I am doing that, Rich. My throat hurts to do that. I will be back shortly."

"Okay. No rush."

Richie then returned to his daughter's bedroom. She was still in bed. Even she was starting to feel better like her brother.

They had been drinking a lot of liquid lately, which was a good sign, he told himself. After he handed the cough drop and her refill, he went back to the kitchen and do the same for Richie Jr.

After he finished that, he heard Marion pull up in the driveway.

Marion let herself in the house. When she walked through the front door, she found Richie still in his pajamas.

"Richard! What are you doing out of bed? You look horrible."

His throat was still sore when he talked with Sara and Richie Jr. Even they had told him the same thing Lori Beth did.

"I was giving Sara and Richie another refill of water."

He said that as he coughed.

"You go back to bed and I will take over from here. Couldn't Lori Beth do it?"

"She can't. She will be at school today."

"Did she plan to go back to school?" Marion asked.

Richie shook his head and answered, "No. She is taking over for some woman who is sick in the hospital for this week."

"Well, that was nice of her to do that. You head back to bed. I will check on you later. How are my grandchildren doing today?"

"They are doing a lot better, Mom. Richie sounds like he is ready to go back to school tomorrow. Same with Sara."

"That's good news. I will stay until Lori Beth returns."

That's when he went back to bed. While getting under the covers, Richie helped himself to a cough drop. He did feel tired, but he couldn't try to sleep.

About an hour or two later, Marion went to check on her grandchildren and son.

Before she did that, the telephone rang. It was already lunchtime when the call came in. Richie slept the entire morning. He was awake when he heard the phone ring.

"Richard, Lori Beth is on the phone. Would you like to speak with her?"

"I can do it, Mom. My throat still hurts."

Marion did notice that for herself. She gave the telephone to him and then left. He was still feeling weak like he was earlier this morning.

"Hi, Richie. How are you and the kids feeling?"

He answered, "I still feel horrible, but Sara and Richie think they feel one hundred percent better and are ready to go back to school tomorrow."

"That's great news. I guess you just picked up what the kids have. I think it was a good idea you had your mother to help out."

"That was my idea."

"Glad you did the right thing, Richie. I will be home around four like yesterday."

"Okay. I feel like I am going back to sleep again."

"I like the sound of that. You stay in bed."

Then the conversation ended.


	4. Chapter 4

Richie was still feeling sick to his stomach the next morning that he had to ask Lori Beth if she could take Richie Jr. and Sara to school.

"Yes, I will. You still sound horrible. Stay in bed today. I will call you at lunch. You can have your mother come and help look after you."

Richie still felt his throat was not wanting him to make him talking at all today, even if it meant calling his mother. He would leave a message on her phone anyway.

"Be sure to drink lots of water today. I will leave some cough drops for you. Do you need one right now?"

All he could do was nod his head. This was something he could do when his throat hurts like this. It's happened in the past, so he knows how it feels.

Lori Beth left very early so she could take the children to school and then she would be with the students she was looking after for this week.

She almost is finished with this job for this week. Richie had been drinking a lot of liquid ever since the first second he felt sick.

Maybe he could have Ralph come over for a short visit. Ralph would be around a germy house if he comes over. He might even get sick too.

Marion showed up around eight – fifteen, and the kids and Lori Beth left.

She knew where he was, so there was no asking where he could be. At least this saves him plenty of time so he won't keep getting up all day to get what he needs.

At least the kids got over being sick, and now it was his turn. Let's hope Lori Beth won't catch it, but there is a chance that she could.

Richie was almost done sucking on his cough drop when he saw his mother walk in.

He grabbed his water by the side of the bed when Marion came to him.

"Hello, Richard. How are you feeling?"

He didn't feel like answering that question, but did anyway. It was still hurting when he tried to speak.

"The same as yesterday."

Marion walked closer and felt his forehead.

"You still feel that your fever hasn't changed since yesterday."

He nodded. He couldn't say anything.

"Did Lori Beth say anything about checking your temperature?"

He had to answer that, so he did.

"She already did that," Richie answered.

"All right. We will check again later and see what your temperature says, if it has changed or not."

He decided to bring up his suggestion about Ralph.

"I was thinking Ralph could come over and visit for a short time."

He still felt his throat feeling horrible when he said that.

"I would wait to do that when you are a lot better, Richard. We don't want him to catch your germs."

Richie saw she made sense. So he didn't bother calling and invite him to stay for a while.

She didn't come back to the bedroom until lunchtime since he slept through the morning and didn't drink much.

When it was lunchtime, he was starting to wake up and in need for a bathroom break before his mother came in to see how he was doing.

Before she came in, Marion walked in.

"How are you feeling, Richard?"

"Still the same. It's almost the weekend, and I hope to have the chance to feel better one hundred percent."

"I'm sure you will. You have done a good job on drinking lots of liquid."

She then said, "I made you some chicken noodle soup. Do you feel well to eat?"

"Yes, I do. I would like to eat in the kitchen."

"No. You stay in bed. You still sound horrible from what you have been saying."

He didn't want to argue, so let her bring in a tray of soup she made.

When he finished, she came back in and he was done with the rest of the drink of his glass he had by his side of the bed.

"Would you like a refill on that, Richard?"

"Yes."

"I will be back shortly."

She took his glass and tray from him. He watched her come and go. She does a great job being a good mother, and he was lucky he had her.

Then she returned with his glass. Then she grabbed out the thermometer and checked to see how it looked like.

It didn't take very long to wait for the number to come up. Then she took it out of his mouth.

It told her it was now ninety – nine.

"You're getting a bit better. You have ninety – nine right now. Go back to sleep for more rest. I will leave you alone."

Then she left. She didn't come back to the bedroom sometime before Lori Beth and the kids came home. He still stayed under the covers when they came in.

"How is Richie doing?" he heard his wife ask.

"A bit better. He slept most of the day and had soup for lunch."

"That's good. Is he still sleeping?"

"No. You can check on him."

So she did.

"How are you feeling?"

"A little bit better."

"You sound like it. I like the sound of that. I will be done this Friday and the teacher will be back on Monday."

He got out of bed to stretch and hug her. She still wasn't ready for him to give her a hug. He wanted to say good – bye to Marion on her way out. He could hear what the kids were telling her.

He joined them.

"Hi, Dad. You sound and look a lot better," Sara told him.

Marion nodded.

"Your father had a lot of rest. Go back to bed please, Richard."

"I wanted to hug you before you leave."

"Don't do that until you're better," she told him.

He didn't complain. He watched as she left and closed the door behind herself.

"Do what she said, Richie. I will bring dinner in soon."

He did what she told him to. Later she came in. He thanked her. When he finished eating and finished another glass of water, he fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Richie went to the upstairs bathroom and decided to give the sink a good scrub. It looked like it was ready to be cleaned again since it had been a while.

At least he felt a lot better today than he had in the past week. Now that he and kids felt normal again, he could do just that.

Then later that morning, it was her turn to catch a cold. Richie had that feeling that it would happen to her. At least she didn't need to go and look after the kids she had this week.

"Lori Beth, you caught what happened to me and the kids."

"I thought that it would come at some point."

Then she sneezed a few times and he said, "Bless you."

"Thank you."

"Do you want me to check your temperature?"

She shook her head, and then said, "You can if you want. I can do that myself, too."

Then she sneezed again.

That's when their daughter came in.

"Here we go again. First it was Richie Jr. me, Daddy, and now you. At least all of us had our turn being sick."

They both had to agree with her.

"That's how it is when you're around people," he said.

"And I was in town most of the week, so that is understandable."

Richie Jr. was home too, but wasn't around when his mother wasn't feeling good so she could have her turn.

"Good thing he isn't here to see this happen to you, Mommy," she said.

They both knew who she was talking about, so all they did was nod their heads.

"I hope this cold goes away soon," she told her mother.

That was something they agreed on also.

Now she went straight back to bed. Richie did feel her forehead. She didn't seem to have a fever, so there really wasn't any need to see what the number was.

So he and the kids did everything they could do to take care of Lori Beth since she was the one with a cold.

It usually doesn't take her very long to feel better. Usually a couple days' worth and then back to normal.

Richie didn't bother calling Marion to help him out, and he wanted to do everything himself.

At least he knows what to do when something like this happens. They will do this in sickness and health, but he wanted to do something he didn't want his mother involved.

The weekend came and went. On Monday morning, Lori Beth woke up at her usual time. Today she felt back to normal, and that was a good thing.

"Now everyone is back to normal, why don't we go out to dinner tonight?" Richie suggested.

Everyone liked that and did just that.

When they ended up coming back home, he said, "Glad that's over with. We can finally do what we have been doing before this happened."

They all agreed with him once more. They stayed up for a few more hours, and then it was time for bed. That's when the day ended.


End file.
